After a round of confrontation, Roosevelt also realized that the other party was not easy to deal with, so he was silent for a while before saying: "Okay, Mr. Committee member, please be honest. Judging from the communication between me and the negotiating delegations between Japan and Russia, the East China government insisted on demanding compensation, which is likely to be the biggest obstacle to this negotiation."

Li Sanjie raised his eyebrows and said, "Mr. President, can't I understand your words like this? Japan and Russia insist on not paying compensation is the biggest obstacle to this negotiation?"

Roosevelt also smiled bitterly. The other party was really unwilling to give in and did not leave any loopholes for himself. However, the United States was the organizer of this talks. Although it was biased towards Japan and Russia, it still had to maintain a neutral position on the broad side. Therefore, he had to nod and said, "Of course it is not wrong to understand this way. We the United States will remain neutral during the negotiations, and will not intent on interfering in the content of your negotiations, nor will we ask you to change your position. Now it is just a private discussion. Your negotiations can still be carried out according to the plan you have formulated, and we do not have to be affected by our discussions. Will the committee member be willing to discuss like this?"

Li Sanjie nodded and said, "Welcome."

Roosevelt said: "Personally, the East China government has not insisted on obtaining compensation. At least I think Japan and Russia have more reasons to require no compensation than the East China government."

Li Sanjie said: "Mr. President has such an idea. It must be your reason. Can you explain the reason for Mr. President?"

Roosevelt said: "I think it is the best time for the East China government to pursue peace, and compensation is not a necessity for the East China government. Although the East China government paid a significant price for this war and borrowed a large amount of foreign debt, as far as we know, the financial situation of the East China government is still good. Although the daily life in China has a certain impact, there is no big change. Moreover, in this war, the East China government has already achieved a lot of benefits. Even if there is no compensation, I think it can pay off the foreign debt for up to five years. If the East China government must insist on obtaining compensation, it is very likely to lead to the breakdown of the negotiations, and the consequences will become unpredictable."

Li Sanjie was silent for a moment and said, "Then Japan and Russia demand no compensation."

Roosevelt said: "To be honest, Japan and Russia's losses in this war are far greater than those of the East China government. The foreign debts borrowed several times that of the East China government. Moreover, the finances of the two countries are almost exhausted, and the debts owed may not be paid back for ten years. Because it was in Russia, a serious social crisis broke out. Although Japan did not have a social crisis, it is very likely to continue to develop according to such a trend. If the East China government still insists on demanding compensation, it will only cause Japan and Russia to go bankrupt. What is more serious is that subversive riots like the French Revolution broke out. Therefore, even if Japan and Russia are forced to accept your compensation request, you may not be able to get compensation. It will also cause civil strife in Japan and Russia, and the government being completely subverted. This may not be beneficial to the East China government."

Li Sanjie said: "The loser pays war reparations to the winners. This is an international practice. In the four major wars that were achieved in the last century, Turkey compensated about 5 million pounds in the Russian-Turkey War, France compensated 5 billion francs in the French-Prussian War, Turkey compensated about 60 million pounds in the Crimean War, and the Qing Dynasty compensated 230 million silver in the Sino-Japanese War. Of course, it seems that no winner has obtained a lot of benefits and there is no need to ask for compensation. Moreover, our East China government does not think that we should violate this international practice. To you

Speaking of Japan, Russia's financial crisis, I'm sorry, this is Japan and Russia's problem, it has nothing to do with us. The war was initiated by them. When starting the war, we should think of the consequences after failure. If Japan and Russia cause domestic unrest and the government is subverted, it is their own responsibility. Moreover, such a result may not be beneficial to us. Although we may not be able to obtain compensation, we can get greater benefits while Japan and Russia's domestic enemies are subverted, and the United States may also get a share of the pie."

Roosevelt was silent for a while, knowing that this reason could not convince the East China government. After a while, he said: "So is it possible to exchange interests, that is, exchange compensation for other interests, such as territory."

Li Sanjie was a little surprised and said, "Territory?"

Roosevelt nodded and said, "Yes, I know that Japan and Russia have occupied the territory that originally belonged to China. If Japan and Russia use these territories as bargaining chips for trading, is it possible for the East China government to give up the claim for compensation? Although they have not received compensation, it is also of great benefit to recovering the lost territory, and it has a great effect on the reputation and prestige of the East China government. If the East China government can accept this condition, I am willing to come forward to persuade Japan and Russia also accept this condition. In this way, the negotiation will eliminate the biggest obstacles and have a high chance of reaching a peace agreement."

Li Sanjie shook his head and said, "Mr. President, thank you very much for your efforts for this tripartite talks, but we are not interested in reclaiming the lost territory now. To be honest, in this war we have acquired a large amount of territory and also recovered part of the lost territory, but our territory expansion should be enough. We cannot recover all the lost territory at once. Although this will be the goal we strive for, so what we need most now is funds rather than territory."

Roosevelt could not hide his disappointed expression, but he knew very well that the East China government's idea was very correct, because the expansion of territory must be guaranteed by economic strength. If the economic strength is insufficient and the territory is expanded blindly, the newly expanded territory can only become a burden rather than development. The East China government is obviously well aware of the reason why it is appropriate to stop. Therefore, in this negotiation, insisting on asking for compensation is to ensure the smooth operation of its economy and have sufficient funds to develop the newly obtained land. This is the reason why Britain, France, the United States and other countries do not want the East China government to obtain compensation.

So Roosevelt sighed softly and decided to make his last effort, saying, "If you must insist on claiming compensation, it is very likely that this negotiation will break down. Have you ever considered the consequences of the negotiation failure?"

Li Sanjie smiled and said, "If the negotiations are broken down, I can only say it is a very regrettable. We have already thought about the consequences of the negotiations breaking down, which is to start a new war and let Japan and Russia lose more on the battlefield. Only in this way will they completely give up their unrealistic visualization and restart the negotiations. However, by that time, they will lose more. I hope that the President can tell Japan and the Russian negotiating delegation this truth."

Roosevelt said: "Mr. Member, I admit that the East China government does have a great military advantage now, and once the war begins again, Japan and Russia cannot be your opponent, but Mr. Member should not forget that Japan and Russia are all countries with allies, Japan and Britain, Russia and France have military alliances. If you force Japan and Russia too quickly, Britain and France may not sit idly by. You can defeat Japan and Russia on the battlefield, but if Britain and France also join the war, the consequences will be unpredictable."

In fact, Roosevelt now knows that Britain and France have decided, and once the negotiations break down, they will join the war. Because Britain and France did not deliberately conceal the plan, they just hope that the plan could be spread to the East China government to force the East China government to give up the compensation. Therefore, Germany and the United States can easily obtain this relationship. Although Roosevelt did not completely explain it, he believes that the East China government should also know the news at this time. Now we will only look at how Li Sanjie answered his question.

Li Sanjie said with disdain, "Even if Britain and France join the war, we are not afraid. Moreover, we have full confidence to defeat the army of Britain and France. I still say the same thing. When starting the war, we should think of the consequences after the failure. This sentence is not only applicable to Japan and Russia, but also to Britain and France."

After hearing Li Sanjie's words, Roosevelt was also a little surprised. He was not sure whether Li Sanjie was deliberately bluffing the momentum or really believed that the East China government would defeat the army of Britain and France. Although Roosevelt did not believe that the East China government would defeat the army of Britain and France, at this point, Roosevelt also understood that the East China government's attitude of demanding compensation was quite firm, at least not shaken at this time. Then it would be meaningless to continue. Therefore, Roosevelt said: "Okay, comrade

Mr. Yuan, I think I have a very clear idea of ​​your meaning. Thank you very much for your frank answer. And I would like to understand the East China government through our discussion. I will re-examine again. In this tripartite talk, our US government and I personally have a neutral position and will not be biased towards that party. Therefore, I hope that you will not be affected by our discussion conversation in the future, even if you participate in the negotiations according to your own position and principles."
Chapter completed!